Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character who first appeared as the titular main protagonist of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. He is an Italian-born Swiss scientist who, after studying chemical processes and the decay of living things, gains an insight into the creation of life and gives life to his own creature. Victor later regrets meddling with nature through his creation, as he inadvertently endangers his own life and the lives of his family and friends when the creature seeks revenge against him. He is first introduced in the novel when he is seeking to catch the monster near the North Pole and is saved from potential fatality by Robert Walton and his crew.